Adoption was very tough initially though and the first breakthrough came in with a concept sale to the National Police Academy in 2010.ET Bureau | March 11, 2016, 08:49 IST

By Taslima Khan

Gurgaon-based VizExperts’s startup story is that of a pivot from a software services company operating in the area of 3D graphics to that into a product company when it launched its revolutionary Digital Sand Model in 2011 after investing a couple of years into research and development.

The product which is targeted at Indian defence and security organisations, is a combination of four different technologies, 3D graphics, gaming, simulation and GIS.

“We saw that the future lies in converging these technologies, much as the digital camera now comes integrated into mobile phones,” says CEO Praveen Bhaniramka, a graduate in computer and information Sciences from The Ohio State University, US.

The problem it solves? When armed forces are flown from different regions to handle security operations in unknown terrains such as the recent Pathankot operation, it is extremely crucial for them to have accurate information of their own assets as well as that of your enemy— where their weapons are stationed, their movements etc.

This is only possible through advanced technology solutions, however Bhaniramka found that although the army buys a lot of such technologies, but adoption is a huge challenge.

“First, the armed forces are not IT savvy and often these products are so complex that they need to spend a month-long training to get started with the product,” he says.

Also, one of the ways VizExpert differentiates from large competitors such as US-based multi-billion dollar company ESRI is by providing integrated products that combines technologies like simulation, gaming and GIS.

Those from competitors need to be bought separately and putting them together is a huge challenge.

“With the Digital Sand Model, the defense personnel on a 32 inch PC, can locate their enemy, their assets etc, and plan their moves even before they reach there, resulting in significant saving of resources,” says Bhaniramka.

Adoption was very tough initially though and the first breakthrough came in with a concept sale to the National Police Academy in 2010.

The Hyderabad police used the solution for training of IPS officers on operational tactics. That was followed by orders from West Bengal Police and Infantry School, Mau.

The startup achieved the most recent success with the Border Security Force which will use the Digital Sand Model to improve situational awareness through 3D visualization of terrain data and online data from field formations, thus empowering them to keep a closer vigil of the country’s border.

The bootstrapped startup which took off with initial investment of $100,000 finds scaling up its biggest challenge ahead.

Since it deals majorly with the government, problems ring in when decision making at the top slows down. So is attracting talent with expertise in different technologies and aligning them to achieve a common goal.

“One of the biggest challenges startups in selling defence products face is having enough capital to execute contracts, since most government departments do not pay in advance,” says Arvind Lakshmikumar, CEO at defence equipment startup Tonbo Imaging.

What keeps VizExperts busy right now is finding more use-cases of the Digital Sand Model across other industries like civil aviation for air traffic control, disaster management, transportation and logistics.